Based on Homer's epic poem The Iliad, this is the tale of the battle between the Trojans and the Greeks for the beautiful Helen. With the epic film starting to come back into vogue, this year's first blockbuster roars onto screens, and not a moment too soon! With a similarly epic budget of £200million, German director Wolfgang Petersen outdoes his previous works, which were amusing, but not particularly inspiring, and does a bloody good job in reviving this age-old tale of love and war. Luckily, most of us will be vaguely aware of the plot line here, even if we're a little fuzzy on the exact names and politics at work in this piece. This means that you have to spend less time working out the many characters and more time enjoying the beauty of this film.
The story starts at a time of relative calm, when megalomaniac Agamemnon (Brian Cox) has consolidated his grip on Greece whilst the Princes of Troy have secured peace through his brother Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). This
equilibrium is typically short-lived however, as Menelaus' wife Helen (Diane Kruger) escapes her unhappy marriage with impulsive Prince Paris (Orlando Bloom). With this tentative alliance destroyed, the scene is set for the seige of Troy and the part of the film that we are all probably familiar with, leading to the inevitable clash between the two titans, Prince Hector (Eric Bana) and Achilles (Brad Pitt).
Troy is a little bit of a slow-starter, the initial half hour of this film having to cover a vast amount of ground, seeing as there is a great deal to learn about the characters before we can get to the real meat of the story. As such the characters have to be slightly exaggerated in order to get the main characteristics across, and this may be slightly annoying unless you're willing to take this in the spirit in which it is meant. However, once the thousand-strong Greek flotillas storm the beaches of Troy, the drama and spectale begins in earnest!
The action in this filming is thrilling and pretty convincing, and placing scenes of clashing legions against ones of one-on-one combat make for some very tense battle scenes. The fight to death between Hector and Achilles is obviously the most thrilling part of the film, as it should rightly be.
Considering this is the most demanding and enormous film Pitt has ever done, he does extremely well, demonstrating to all that he's not just a pretty face. Achilles is excellently portrayed as a lithe, unblemished warrior, haunted by those he has killed but caught in the hands of Fate and unable to escape his destiny. This engaging character works so well because he is humanly flawed and as such is incredibly watching. It is harder to imagine anyone other than Pitt in this role, as he pulls it off so remarkably well.
With regards to the other characters, I was personally delighted to see a new-comer to the Hollywood lights playing Helen. I had feared that the part would go to the seeming omnipresent Cameron Diaz, which in my view, would have completely spoilt this film. Eric Bana is typically delightful to watch, and is perfectly suited to his role. The only person here that I am not too keen on is Orlando Bloom. His acting skills seem to be a tad deficient now and again, and I'm never entirely convinced by him. This has been a similar trait in his other films, such Pirates of the Carribean. However, perhaps this is just my take on things, and this shouldn't put you off the film. Oh, and there's always Sean Bean to feast your eyes on. It's just a shame that he never really gets the truly juicy parts in films like these!
The music here is also perfectly suited, and is distinctly reminiscent of that other epic film, Gladiator. No surprise really when both soundtracks were done by the same composer.
Whilst Troy is not perfect, it is pretty darn good and, in places, truly excellent. This is a formidable movie, bombastic yet engagingly watchable. Naturally, it cannot match up to the perfection and excellence of The Iliad itself, but then, who could realistically expect that of it?
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
This covers all the aspects necessary for an exceptional review - it covers the background of the film, it's pros and cons, the actors and some of the important crew as well as giving a solid personal opinion.
Karnage 30.05.2004 21:56
Great review. After seeing all the fuss about this I might actually go to watch it.....as for Sean Bean not getting the juicy bits in films like this I'm sure there was a lot of juice involved in turn as Boromir in LOTR, even if the juice in question WAS blood from all the arrows he got hit with. Keep the great reviews coming! :)
-Karl
There are many reasons to recommendTroyas a good ol' fashioned Hollywood epic, especially ... more
if you've never read Homer's The Iliad. Dispensing with Greek gods altogether, this earnestly massive production (budgeted at upwards of $200 million) will surely...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
For honour... In 1193B.C. the dandy Trojan prince Paris (Bloom) irresponsibly spirits ... more
away the unhappy wife of Menelaus (Gleeson) the Spartan king. Demanding the return of Helen the Greeks launch a thousand ships and lay siege to Troy. Under the com...
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Advantages: Fantastic cinematography, Great acting by Bana and Pitt especially, Gripping battle sequences Disadvantages: Bloom and Bean's performances are flawed , Slightly over-long
![Troy : The Movie&More (2 Disc Special Edition) [2004] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78483204.jpg "Troy : The Movie&More (2 Disc Special Edition) [2004] [DVD]")
![Troy (2-Disc Edition) [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78503902.jpg "Troy (2-Disc Edition) [DVD] [2004]")
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